Arriving from fighting in Malaysia
and commonly known as the "Netherlands Battalion," the advance
party of the Dutch contingent arrived in Korea on 24 October 1950,
but the remainder of the units men did not arrive until
early December 1950.

I. THE WAR

Duration of the Conflict: June
25th 1950 July 27th 1953 at 2200 hours. Participants :
United Nations Military Forces versus North Korea and the People's
Republic of China with political and material support of the
Soviet Union.

Cause : Unprovoked attack by
North-Korean military forces on the Republic Of Korea (South
Korea)

The first four vessels were
awarded the Presidential Unit Citation of the Republic of Korea as
part of the US 7th Fleet.

Hr.Ms "Evertsen" and "Van
Galen" were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation of the Republic
of Korea for a second time as part of "Task Force 95 ".

A total of 1360 men of the navy
served in the Korean waters. Two of them died when
serving.

- Activities of the Dutch naval
forces:

* escorting aircraft
carriers

* anti-infiltration
patrols

* destroying enemy costal
guns, transport and bunkers

* supporting ground troops
with artillery fire

Hr.Ms. "Piet Heim" became a
member of the "Train-Busters Club" after destroying an enemy
train.

1950 Chinnampo,
Inchon

1951 Wonsan, Inchon,
Sak-to, Chingpo Sangjin, Chongsin and Hungnam

1952 Sak-do, Cho-do,
Sangjin, Wonsan Taechong, Pyong-Do

1953 Sak-to, Taejong and
Pyong Do

III. THE NETHERLANDS DETACHMENT UNITED
NATIONS (NDVN)

The NDVN was established on October
15th 1950 by Royal Degree number 27, dated
27-091950.

Out of a total number of 16.225
volunteers only 3.418 men were accepted and sent to Korea. Because
516 men volunteered twice and 38 men three times a total of 3.972
men served in Korea. 2.980 of those participated in the actual
war, as the units that arrived after the armistice (July 27th
1953) did not participate in any fighting.

The 3.972 men mentioned before formed
26 detachments, who left for Korea on different dates.

The 1st Detachment (636 men) left the
Netherlands on October 26th; the 26th (and last) Detachment (143
men) left on July 1954. The last units returned to the Netherlands
at the end of 1954.

- Casualties

116 men; 115 are buried at the
Tanggok UN War cemetery near Pusan (Korea) 1 man could not be
recovered after being KIA

Missing in Action 3

POW 1 (died in prison
camp.)

One seriously wounded man died
right after arriving in the Netherlands, one had died in an
accident in Korea and one died on the way back and was buried in
Singapore.

381 men were wounded in action,
26 during training, 5 and 56 men in accidents.

A total of 91 men are
permanently disabled.

The NDVN was always
considerably below official battalion strength and therefore the
8th Army allotted a number of Korean soldiers of the Korean
Augmentation to US Army (KATUSA) to the NDVN. Of this group 20 men
were KIA.

In memory of these Korean
soldiers a remembrance plaque in both the Korean and the Dutch
language is attached on the Korean War Memorial in the "Oranje
barrack" at Schaarsbergen near Arnhem, The Netherlands.

Twenty members of the other
Korean support units CTC/KSC, assigned to the NDVN, were also
KIA.

The total losses of the NDVN
and assigned units amounts to 163 men. By this the NDVN suffered
the heaviest loses of any battalion in the Dutch Army
ever.

- Assignments

After arriving in Korea the
NDVN was assigned to the 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment "Rock of the
Marne". This was one of the regiments of the 2nd (Indianhead) US
Infantry Division.

1. To the 1st
Detachment NDVN the Distinguished Unit Citation of the
President of the United States stating " Hoengseong
Wonju" for the period 12 / 15th Feb. 1951

2. To the 1st and the 2nd
Detachment NDVN, as part of the 2nd Div, a similar award,
stating "Soyang gang" for the period 16/22 May 1951

3. To the 1st up to and
including the 16th Detachment NDVN, the Presidential Unit
Citation of the President of the Republic of Korea, stating "
November 1950 /April 8 1953.

4. To the 1st up to and
including the 19th Detachment NDVN, as part of the 2nd US
Infantry Division , a similar award, for the period Nov 22nd
1950 - October 26th 1953.

All Dutch military personnel
that served in Korea was awarded:

1. by the Dutch government:
the Cross for Justice and Freedom with clasp "Korea"

2. by the United Nations : U.N.
Service Medal with clasp "Korea"

3. by the Korean government the "
Korean War Medal" (Army personnel only).

KATUSA troops, as mentioned
before, also were awarded the Cross for Justice and
Freedom.

For gallantry in battle the
following decorations have been awarded to members of the
N.D.V.N.

Military Order of William :
3 (of which 2 posthumous)

Bronze Lion : 5

Bronze Cross : 19 Cross of
Merit 4

American awards :
120

Korean Awards :
43

IV THE TRADITION

"Van Heutsz Regiment"

The tradition of the NDVN, the
first unit of a new regiment, formed the 1st June 1950 and named
the " Van Heutsz" Regiment, is kept alive by that Regiment. Van
Heutsz was the most famous general in the Dutch East Indies at the
end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century) The regiment is
billeted in the Oranje barracks at Schaarsbergen near
Arnhem.

Colors of the Regiment carry the
words: Korea 1950-1954

Since the new formed regiment did not
have her colors in 1950 yet, a Dutch flag was used in Korea as the
"battle- flag " of the NDVN. This flag now has an official status
and is shown on every parade etc of the regiment. American and
Korean battle streamers, representing the Unit Citations, are
attached to this flag.

The "battle- flag" has its own color
guard, armed with the M-1 Garand rifle (as used in Korea by the
NDVN ) The Color Guard wears the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division
"Indianhead" patch on its right sleeve.

On the barrack grounds Is also
situated the official monument for the Dutch soldiers and the
KATUSA soldiers killed in action during the Korean War